The new Miss USA comes out as a geek, and sends the world on its ear. “Oh god, she’s too pretty to be a geek.” Really? Or is she jumping on the bandwagon as others suggest? Some of the criticism is even coming from within our own geek culture! Is it hard for some of us to imagine that among the ranks of geeks and nerds, who stereotypically have been pictured as awkward less attractive individuals living in the basement, there are people who are simply coming out because they never wanted to be viewed as a geek because of the stigma?

If you grew up in the 80’s and were labeled ‘nerd’, were or are picked on for liking Star Wars or Lord Of The Rings, looked at funny as you walked up to the check-out counter of a toy store by yourself with several Transformers in hand, or made to throw away your Dungeons and Dragons books because they were called satanic, then you know what stigma I speak of. Even if you hid what you loved, you probably heard ridicule because of how you looked, walked, acted, spoke. You wear glasses to help your eyesight, and are scoffed at because of this. Kick me signs on the back, wedgies, dirt in the face, spit in your food. Coworkers talk behind your back because you come in on a day off with a Batman shirt on, have a few My Little Pony’s in your cubicle, or have that awesome FLCL wallpaper on your work PC.

Patton Oswalt wrote that geek culture needs to die in order to move forward. I say not necessarily. I’m one of those old school geeks who had to toss out D&D books cause of religious kooks, got picked on cause of looks, had to give away Star Wars and Transformers toys because I was “too old for them”. Now I live in a day and age when I see and hear about geek culture from all over the world. Social networking is a great tool for meeting people, much more evolved than old CRT telnet clients (yes, I said telnet, look it up if you are scratching your head), and allowed people from all over to connect.

So how does this relate to the idea that beautiful women have to prove their geek cred? In my eyes, they don’t! I learned from those who picked on me as a kid so many years ago to not have the same prejudice against others. Maybe some of them are pandering to geeks and nerds just to get our attention because they are sexy and attractive? Sure, every culture has those types. Give them your attention for a little while, then go back to your own thing. If they later turn their backs on geeks, did we lose anything? No. There are hundreds of thousands of people in this world who claim geek and/or nerd. Some keep it quiet, only to speak of it in confident circles and behind closed doors and computer screens. Others fly the flag with pride, whether that be the Autobot sticker on your car, the Stormtrooper armor you march in parades with, or the way you interject yourself into conversation when the topic of how good is “Game of Thrones” comes up.

My message is an obvious one. Be yourself. And that even goes to those ignite the fires of debate among us geeks. It’s fine to talk about and question others sometimes. Long as it’s not hurtful to either side. Some of your were in debate teams in school remember? Conversations about attractiveness and geek cred help keep our minds fresh, they bring out geeks who otherwise would not have a voice. I’m one of them. A year ago I would have never talked much about it. Now, I can’t wait to head out in the world, traveling to different conventions and events….and simply saying “Hello, how are ya today?” to all my fellow geeks and nerds.

We’re a culture, a family, a mighty force of nature. Stand tall, be proud, wear your geek on your shoulder and your nerd on your chest. Show respect to each other, raise your children with a bit of science and Spongebob. We are geeks. We are nerds. We are mighty!!

A quick explanation. Katie Cook is the creator of the webcomic “Gronk”, as well as an artist who has done works of Star Wars, Fraggle Rock, Jim Henson, and other properties. NOH8 is a movement brought about by California Proposition 8, which is an amendment to their constitution that states that marriage between a man and woman only will be recognized in the state of California.
Via Twitter, Katie noted the other day that a reader of her comic had sent her an email. In the email, she was asked to remove the “NOH8” logo from the main character Dale’s t shirt, or they would cease reading of the comic. She replied to him, in her own polite way, that she would not. She also quoted on Twitter that, “I think it is discriminating against anyone because of who they believe in or who they love is bullshit.”
I’ll go on record right now and state to all my readers that I am a supporter of gay marriage and gay rights in general. Many of my friends are gay, and I have seen the struggles they face in life. However, I do not see them as gay; I see them as human beings. They deserve the same right and privileges that each and every one of us has. If you want me to being this into the movement I am in, many gay people are geeks and nerds just like us, why would we discriminate against them? They are no different than us, and stand shoulder to shoulder with us to show our unity.
The more I think on this and talk about it, the more I hope to see a geek and nerd unity. Let us show the masses that we are proud of who we are, welcome all with open minds, and share no ill thoughts to others. We may differ on opinions and views, but we are intelligent enough to simply share our views, not force them on others. This is why I always welcome discussion here. Have your own voice.

I’m going to start a bit of a series with this, and I hope to reach out to all my fellow geeks. Maybe this is just retreading ideas we have all had, but with this being a grand day for Star Wars fans and geek and nerds in general, why not say it anyways.

Inspired by others, I wish to make a simple statement.

We are geeks. We are nerds. We are fanboys. We are otaku. More importantly, we are family. This is more than just a hobby, it is a lifestyle. This is our culture. It does not need to die, it simply needs to flourish. We may hit bumps in the road; we may get the occasional stone tossed at us. Words will be said to us that are both praise and scathing. It hurts, yes, but the pain will not last. And for every one bully you face, a hundred fellow brothers and sisters will come to your aid.

Just remember, if you feel down or scared about showing your geek and nerd to the world, think about every 501st trooper who gives up their time to bring a smile to a sick child. Remember every year how we unite to say, “May the fourth be with you.” Remember the friends you made as you stood in line for that chance to meet Stan Lee. Never forget that the money you spent on a shirt, hat, or even an in game pet, went to a good cause.

Why are we family? We stand together, shoulder to shoulder, equal in our own eyes and hearts. As long as you believe in the geek within you, you never have to prove your geek to anyone.

I remember back when I was a very, VERY young kid, and my grandfather gave me my first comic books. I still have it. It is two issues of Brave and the Bold from DC comics with Batman, one with him fighting Metamorpho, and the other featuring Dr. Fate. I also remember around that time sitting in front of a black and white TV (this was the early 80’s people, color TV was still kinda expensive I think) and watching Adam West and Burt Ward fight crime as Batman and Robin on Saturday mornings. I think it’s safe to say that thanks to those early years, I became a lifelong Batman fan.

“But, what about Star Wars? Aren’t you a huge Star Wars fan too?”

Sure am. Around the same time as the early Batman exposure I can remember going up to my grandparents house on Christmas day and looking in awe at the most awesomest toys ever: The AT-AT and the Millenium Falcon. However, there was one character in Star Wars that grabbed my attention more than anyone, and that was Boba Fett. You see, Empire was my first Star Wars film, since I was way too young to see the first one in theaters. I finally got to see the first one a year or so after seeing Empire thanks to my uncle who had the most advanced bit of tech available in the early 80’s, a BetaMax player.

“So you probably got tons of stuff from Batman and Star Wars I imagine.”

Not really. Matter of fact the only remnants from my childhood are those two issues of Brave and the Bold. Don’t get me wrong, I had tons when I was a kid. Star Wars, Batman, Transformers, G.I. Joe. I even had the USS Flagg aircraft carrier, and for being a kid from a family without a lot of money, that was something of a status symbol for me. Sadly though, all of those toys were lost, sold, broken, and in some cases simply forgotten due to time and changing attitudes.

“What do you mean, changing attitudes?”

These days, I wear my geek badge with pride and carry my nerd I.D. card wherever I go. I also had days back in middle and high school where I tried to be one of the ‘cool kids’. I never went so far as to start playing sports, but I tried to shed that image of being some kind of nerd. For a while, I saw collecting toys as something for kids. I thought it was just something stupid. Then, I started my first job in a comic shop.

“You worked in a comic shop?”

Yep. Memory Lane Comics to be exact. Started working there shortly after a guy named Adam took over from the old man who owned it for so long.

(oh, side note. I remember going to Memory Lane when I was very little, not sure exactly when, but I know G.I. Joe #1 from Marvel Comics was on the new rack)

Working at the comic shop did two things for me, well three really. First, it showed me that being a comic and toy collector was something alot of people of all ages did. Two, it showed me the value of taking care of collectibles. And three, it showed me that if you let a cat live in your shop like old man Henry did……oh god the yellow bags……

I still have nightmares about the yellow bags.

“And now? Sounds like you got it made now.”

From a certain point of view. I told someone recently that I was gonna sell off quite a bit of my Star Wars collection and they reacted like doing so doesn’t make me a collector. It was a joke, but it really got me thinking, “I’m a huge Boba Fett fan yet I only have a few figures. I love Batman but the comics I own are few of those titles.” So I want to refocus myself. I want to build a new computer soon. I want that sweet looking Boba Fett life size bust. I want to have a kick ass run of Batman and Detective comics. I can’t do that while I am trying to buy everything under the sun.

“So what truly makes someone a collector?”

If you are a geek and/or nerd and you love something so much you want to own stuff, then you are a collector. I think the highlight of my collecting life has to be two events. The first was heading to a show in Tennessee called AdventureCon and getting to meet the man who wore the Boba Fett suit, Jeremy Bullock. And of course, I can never forget DragonCon back in 2008, when I got to meet Adam West. I don’t care how many of you young people grew up watching him voice the Mayor from ‘Family Guy’, he IS Batman.

(Trivia note: The other most notable appearance, at least in voice, for West was in the Batman Animated Series episode ‘The Gray Ghost” as Simon Trent/Gray Ghost, who Bruce Wayne idolized as a child and used as influence later when he became Batman. Cool.)

So I guess my message to all my fellow geeks and nerds is this: Collect what YOU want. We are all in this together. I’m not trying to be better than the other guy, I’m not worried about how much I own. I just want to get the cool stuff.

Oh, and I still have a goal to meet Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day next. And Kevin Smith too, though if I get called up on stage for a performance of “Let Us Fuck”…..oh boy……

Note, this isn’t quite SFW just cause of language, just in case you really need to know

Ok, todays isn’t so much a teaser as more of a snippet. Well, not really a snippet since its not from anything yet really developed. I just find that sometimes I want to write a passage from a story to kinda get the idea of the mood and how the characters will act. All this stemmed from last night. As I was laying down for bed I just had something come to mind. I’m really glad for my iPhone and the notepad on it, cause this is what was written down:

Aryana Morrison, born October 5th, 2260 in New Cairo, Dakota. Age 28.

So that’s it, my story now has a protagonist, and she has a name. Now, why New Cairo and Dakota? Well, I always envisioned doing a story set in the future, in a time when political rivalries mattered more than the well being of the masses. A time where technology was so integral in our lives that it bordered on overkill. Countries and even states fought over borders. War both large and small ravaged the land. Cities were destroyed and rebuilt. People lived on the moon, Mars, and even on Saturn’s moon Titan. Society has both embraced and rejected religion. And a detective working a simple industrial espionage case gets in way over her head. So here is another sample:

Shots rang though the nightclub as a strange hooded figure ran though, knocking over patrons and tables. Aryana persued him, gun drawn, looking for the chance for a clear shot. As the hooded assailant jumped onto the stage, he grabbed one of the dancers and drew a unusual gun, placing the muzzle to her temple.

“Stay back bitch, or this whore dies!”

Aryana stopped, sights trained on her foe. “Your wanted Jarna…dead or alive. Don’t think that holding a hostage is going to stop me from bringing in your head.”

‘Drop your gun or she ge…..” A shot pierced through the dancer’s head and exited the back of the hood. Blood and viscera splattered onto the curtains and back wall as the two bodies collaped onto the stagefloor. As terrified patrons dashed out of the front and back exits, Aryana walked up to the bodies, gun still trained just in case. The dancer, a synthetic humanoid, lay motionless, her eyes wide open and a yellowish fluid coming from the wounds in her head. Aryana kneeled and pulled the hood back from the attacker. It was Jarna alright. He was Telzaran, almost human in appearance except for the lack of ears and eye pupils. She smiled a bit, “Got ’em.”

Outside, police and rescue vehicles gathered. Aryana walked out of the bar, carring with her Jarna’s ident pack. She walked up to her captain, who didn’t look very pleased.

“What in the fuck do you think you’re doing?! I told you to track Jarna and bring him in, not raise holy fucking hell downtown! And to top that off, killing a civilian? You’re stepping way over the god damned line this time!!”

“Look,” She said calmly, holding out the pack. “I got him. He’s not going to cause any more trouble for the company. All the information they were looking for is here. And besides, the only people who died are a murderer and spy, and a repro whore.”

The captain statched the bundle from her, still raging with anger. “I don’t give a good shit damn what you think about clones, they still got all the same rights under the law as anybody! If you keep this up, I’ll have you busted down to traffic patrol on Mars. How would you like that?”

She turned away, walking to her craft. “Well, beats working this shitty place.” She turned her head back and gave him a flirtatious look with her piercing ice blue eyes. “But you know you can’t bear to get rid of me, I’m the best you got.”

The door to her craft shut and it took off. The captain stood his ground, and muttered, “You’re right, but you got bigger problems than me girl….”

Not such a nice person is she? Well, thats really the point. This is a world that doesn’t breed nice people anymore. Don’t worry though, I promise you that you’ll see the good people when its all said and done.

Ok, another night and another teaser. What I am trying to do is challenge myself to write one blog a day and write more and more on some ideas for stories I have had for so long. This one is kind of an old project for me. It started many, MANY years ago when I wrote a fiction story for an english class in high school. Set in a distant future on our own world, a world that has been corrupted by our own greed and thirst for power. I decided to change the main character from a male to female, and have her as a cop instead of some crazy superhero. Still got alot to do on this one, but here is another little taste.

“I hate this city. Lived here all my life. Seen it go from being one of the brightest and wealthiest cities on the Americas continent to sinking into a pit of filth and corruption. Whores of all races and species constantly beg for your money, and petty thieves simply try to take it by force. Most of the businesses here are centered around synthour and drugs. Some cater to those damn posi-brains. Why do I walk these streets every night? Least the job pays well, being a cop here means always having something to do. And at least its better than living up there….”

Ok, thats it for now. I swear this is one I really want to work on and cross my fingers will get published one day in the future.

I’m back!!! So after months of not writing anything due to a drastic change in life including moving, I’m finally gonna get back to blogging. One thing I want to do with my blog is use it as a tool to show off my art and writing. I’ll try to write a longer poster later, but for now….a teaser of what I am working on. The idea came to me while working on deliveries the other day….

“I hear people all the time say it. Always saying how wonderful it must be to work in a comic shop. Well, they must be on crack if they think its really that great. The hours suck, the owner never does anything (and hardly even makes an appearance), the customers REALLY suck, and the pay is terrible. The good part? Well, some of the customers are too bad. My sis works here with me too, and we actually get along most of the time. And then of course….there’s her……..”

Yeah, that’s it, nothing more than a teaser. Hey, isn’t that how we felt after watching those Super Bowl commercials? Well, I’ll work on it and write more soon. And look for some awesome photography here soon once I get my taxes back and get me a new DSLR.